


R's Diner

by nevermindgrantaire



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Fast Food, Les Amis de l'ABC Shenanigans, Multi, milkshake based innuendo and humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 19:25:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2359505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermindgrantaire/pseuds/nevermindgrantaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why do they call it fast food? Because if you eat it quick enough you don't have to taste it!</p><p>Enjolras is not doing particularly well. Cut off by his dad and down on his luck, the only place willing to employ a politics major with no prior experience is a run-down burger place in the back end of nowhere. It doesn't look promising, but with Joly the only slightly evil med student and Courfeyrac the part time chicken at his side, what can possibly go wrong?<br/>When Grantaire shows up, he pretty much finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	R's Diner

Yeah, this job was really not going to work out for him.

Enjolras looked dubiously at the bright flashing sign screaming “Napoleon’s Diner” and sighed. He just… needed the money. Ever since his father had seen him in the paper at the equal rights protest, he’d been getting more and more angry and the latest revelation (that he had dropped out of his business course at uni and was now taking politics) had been the last straw. Cut off without a penny. So now he was out on his arse, on his own in the world. This place was just… degrading, though. The stupid caps, the bright yellow polos, the ultra violet lights and the squeaky yellow and red tiled floor, the whole place was pretty gross. Still. It wasn’t like there were job opportunities everywhere for politics majors with no prior experience and no contacts and rent was due two nights ago so he had accepted.

Pushing the door open and setting off the jingly bell thing, he walked in.

At the front counter was an overly cheerful-looking boy, about E’s age, with his back to the door. He was texting and sniggering to himself occasionally. There was one customer sat in the corner, a tiny old man who was scowling into a coffee, and beside the counter a dishwater blonde girl was miserably pushing dirty water around with a mop. In the kitchen area, another girl, extremely slim and with short-cropped dark hair under a net was frying up chips and an older man was counting out money onto a table.

“Um, hi? I’m Enjolras, I’m supposed to be starting work today?”

“You’re late.” The man at the back said, and picked up something from under the table. “Here’s your hat and your polo top. I’m Thenardier, assistant manager and notice I said assistant but I should be fucking manager by now after all the time I’ve worked at this bloody place. That’s Joly,” he gestured to the boy texting who waved a hand half heartedly with his eyes still on his phone, “That’s Eponine.” The girl doing the chips rubbed her arm over her forehead and acknowledged him with a nod. “Cosette,” the blonde girl gave him a small smile. “And Grantaire.” The front door opened with a jangle and another boy tumbled through. He was short, about 5”6’, and had a scruffy pre-pubescent type beard. His hair was curly and shoved under a beanie hat and his cheeks were flushed bright red from running.

“I am so sorry I’m late, oh my god, the busses were terrible and-“

“I don’t care. Frankly I don’t even want to be here right now, and I cannot work up the energy to give a fuck. Go get changed. You can show the new guy where to go.”

“New guy?” He whirled round, his hoodie flaring as he spun, and shot Enjolras with a finger gun before stopping and taking him in properly. “Oh.” For a second or two he just gaped, his eyes obviously fixated on his face, then breathed in a little too heavily and started coughing. “Yeah! New guy. Hi.”

“Are you ok?”

“Just-” Cough. “Dying-” Cough. “I’ll be fine-“ Cough. “Come on.”

 

**

 

“… so you put the money in there, push the register in and _bingo_! You’ve got it!” Joly grinned, and Enjolras nodded slowly.

“I… think I get it?”

“Do you want me to show you again?”

“Oh, no, no, it’s fine!” He waved his hands about. “No, I reckon after the 8th time I should understand it.”

Joly smirked sideways at him and pulled out his phone as it buzzed. “’Should’ being the operative word. You know little and must learn much, young warrior.”

Enjolras stared out of the front window for a moment. It was his first proper shift, and Thenardier had buggered off to god knows where. Cosette had been picked up at the end of her shift by a huge, hulking man with a massive beard and tattoos all over his hands. _“That’s her dad. He’s been in prison,”_ Joly had whispered to him not very surreptitiously. The other girl, Eponine, was outside taking her cigarette break and the guy who had stared at him was in the stock room. Random bursts of loud Lana Del Ray could be heard occasionally, alongside tuneless singing.

He seemed alright, that guy, although he was pretty shy. He didn’t say anything to him the whole time they were changing, and he definitely wasn’t as confident taking his shirt off as E. Also, those red cheeks seemed to be a permanent feature although if anything they got even worse when he started changing. Occasionally Grantaire had managed to answer a question that Enjolras had asked him, but only with a sort of squeak, which wasn’t really talking. Staring and squeaking, those both seemed to be his skill set.

Joly bumped his hip gently. “We have customers. Want to try out your new-found till skills?”

Jangling, the door opened and a boy came in, smiling awkwardly at everything and everyone. He had freckles scattered everywhere and his front teeth were gappy. On his way up to the counter he tripped over his own feet and apologised to a table as he bumped it a little, then turned puce.

Enjolras bit his lip and tried not to laugh. “Hello, and welcome to Napoleon’s Diner, what can I get you?”

The guy blushed and twisted his sleeves together. “Um.” He said smartly. “Eponine?”

“I’m sorry sir, we don’t serve that on the menu,” Joly quipped. “She’s out the back on her smoking break, Marius. What’s up?”

“I saw her again. I saw the girl. She was perfect and lovely and she was walking down the street and I tried to catch up with her but-”

“Well that’s all fine and dandy Marius love, but it would be brilliant if you would order something because it’s Enjy here’s first day and he needs to learn how to use the till.”

“Oh.” Marius blinked. “Hello.”

“Hi.”

“Um. Fries, please.”

“Coming right up!” Joly waved him forward. “Take his money, like I taught you.”

Enjolras obediently held his hand out and took the money.

“Good, good, now press the button on the till that says- No not that one, the other- What are you doing? Ok, no, don’t do that, just give it here.” Joly rang the order through himself and fake-slapped Enjolras around the ear. “Hopeless, rich boy. Hopeless.” Then, to Marius. “Go on, go round the back. I won’t tell Thenardier.”

“You’re a star, Joly!” Marius grinned and ducked under the gap in the counter and out through the back door.

Joly gave him a mock salute. “Don’t I know it!” He turned back to Enjolras with a sigh. “That’s Marius. He works here some days, and he’s in love with a mystery girl he saw on the bus once. Never shuts up. He’s adorable to start with but I won’t blame you if you throw him out of the window, don’t you worry. He’s bloody useless with the till, worse than you.” There was a buzz and he reached down for his phone again.

Unable to swallow his curiosity any longer, Enjolras asked, “Who do you keep texting?”

“My girlfriend. Musichetta. She works at the bar down the road, and I think a few of us might be going down there when our shifts are finished. You want to join?”

“Oh, thanks but no thanks. I’ve got papers to write.”

“You’re a student?”

“Yeah, Politics. You?”

“Medicine. It’s fascinating, but Courfeyrac- he’s the chicken man- banned me from talking about it here because it puts the customers off their food.”

“I’d like to hear more about- Wait, did you say the chicken man?”

Joly flapped his hand in a sort of never mind way. “Yeah. Courf. The chicken man. Anyway, the awesome thing about the medicine degree is the amount of-”

“The chicken man.” Enjolras persisted.

“He comes in on Saturdays, dresses like a chicken and stands outside the restaurant waving flyers at people and clucking. Pretty standard.”

“Oh. Ok…”

“Anyway! Back to medicine!”

**

In the stock room, Grantaire sighed and dropped the clipboard on the floor. He needed a smoke. Flipping the of switch on the radio as he passed, he nipped out of the back door and leant heavily against the railings outside. Eponine was there, looking glum.

“You ok?” He asked.

She looked up, eyes thick with eyeliner. “Why wouldn’t I be? The love of my fucking life can’t stop talking about this bloody wonderful girl he’s seen and I’m all on my own smoking next to a bloody trash can cos I hate my job. And my dad. No, no, life is perfect.”

Grantaire nodded and patted her shoulder. “I feel you, bro.”

“Call me bro again and die,” Ep muttered. “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Any way, what was up with you this morning when you were talking to the new guy? You went all… weird.”

Grantaire narrowed his eyes. “He is not the new guy.”

“No?” Eponine frowned. “What is he, then?”

“He is a fucking greek god. He’s a marble statue come to life to torment me. He’s like a glass of water and I’m Tantalus. I mean, look at him!” She raised a sceptical eyebrow at him and he shrugged. “He took his shirt off in front of me and I almost drooled. He’s bloody gorgeous. No clue what he’s doing in a place like this.”

Ep tilted her head back and blew a smoke ring, and Grantaire tried not to look impressed even though he really was. “It’s not so bad.”

“Ha.” R snorted to himself, shaking his head.

“What?”

“I’ve been here, what? 3 weeks? And already I know what a shithole this is. You’ve been here all your life.”

Eponine shrugged again and blinked her huge eyes up at the sky. “Yeah well. It’s not such a great life when it comes down to it.”

Sobered, Taire rested his head on her shoulder for a moment and she closed her eyes. “I think I like him, Ep.”

“Like-like him?”

“Like, like-like-like him.”

“Oh right. That clears all that up then.”

Grantaire smiled and nudged her foot with his. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well.” She stood up, dusting down the back of her skinny jeans and tugging down her polo. “Good luck, I guess.”

 

***

 

Saturday morning and Napoleon’s Diner was open bright and early. Grantaire shuffled in without picking his feet off the floor, yawning pitifully and rubbing his eyes in the sunlight.

“Oh my god!” Eponine shrieked when she saw him, and he jumped.

“What?!”

She pointed at him, eyes wide in fake terror. “A real life zombie!”

“Oh, go fuck yourself.”

She sniggered at him, and shifted her bag up her shoulder a little further. “Well anyway, I’m not working today-”

“Hooray!” Muttered Grantaire, but quietly so she wouldn’t punch him.

“- So you’re gonna be missing the pleasure of my company. Joly’s off today too, and Cosette is doing stock room. Jehan is on kitchen duty with Bousset, they’re just heating up the fryers, so you’re on till 2 with Enjolras.” She patted him on his shoulder, grinning slightly scarily.

“Ok…” He looked past her, at the man behind the counter. Enjolras was glaring at the till like it was some kind of creature from hell, his eyes narrowed and his pointy chin raised defiantly. R smiled to himself. The cap didn’t exactly suit the other guy but it didn’t look as bad as it should have done. His blonde hair puffed out at the sides- they had made him put it up in one of those ridiculous nets apparently, but even then he just couldn’t look bad.

“Are you even listening to me?” Grantaire came back to earth with a bump and turned back to Ep, who was tapping her foot in irritation.

“No, sorry, what?”

“Ugh. I just said that Courf is coming by later to do some chicken stuff.”

R scrunched up his face and groaned. “Yay.” He held his arms out to her. “Ok, you go enjoy your day off, you citizen of hell. Give me a hug and I’ll see you later.”

Eponine gave him a brief squeeze then wriggled away and darted out of the door, waking her shoulder. “Have fun!”

Grantaire smiled after her and crossed to the counter, shrugging off his jacket. “Uh,” he said to Enjolras in lieu of a ‘hello’.

“Hi!” The blond smiled at him weakly and gestured at the cash register. “Why the fuck is it flashing like that?”

“Um. Ah. Ha, just hit it and it’ll stop,” Grantaire said and tried to subtly check him out out of the corner of his eye.

There was an awkward silence as Enjolras turned to ask something else and uncomfortably met his gaze for a few moments too long- R looked away instantly.

“So…”

The door clanked as a customer walked in and his staring was broken off as they started working in earnest, calling orders back to Jehan and Bossuet and barely catching a moment to talk in between.

An hour or so passed and finally there was a break in customers- Grantaire pulled off his hat and fanned himself cool. “Christ, it’s hot in here.”

“It is.” Enj agreed and propped his elbows on the counter. “I’m melting.”

From the back, Jehan called “You should try working on the fryer!”

“Aw, go away Prouvaire!” Grantaire snarked with a grin. “You can come up here if you want and take my place while I go have a cigarette if you like.”

Jehan’s red-haired head popped around the corner, eyes twinkling. “Sure. It’ll give me a chance to get to know the new guy.”

 

**

“So. You like the new guy? Yeah, I can tell.” The man in the huge chicken suit, Courfeyrac, flicked his cigarette and leaned back on the empty crate he was sitting on. The smoking area was out the back, right next to the bins, with a few crates and a set of railings.

“That’s cos I literally just told you I like him.”

“I’m like a mind reader. You want some advice?”

“Not really.”

“You’re just too ugly for him, mate.”

Grantaire laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, now see what you’ve done there is confuse advice with abuse.”

“Well, what do you think friends are for?”

“You’re not my friend. I’ve met you three times and you keep talking to me.”

Courfeyrac widened his eyes. “Oh, that’s just mean!” He rearranged his feathers prissily and huffed.

“Ah, shut up.”

“Ahhh, young love.” Courf clapped a yellow, feathery hand to his shoulder. He gazed upwards, a far-away look in his eye. “I once was young and in love too…”

“You’re the same age as me.”

“He was beautiful and carefree, and wise. Just looking at him gave me this… ache-y feeling. Right in the pit of my stomach.”

Grantaire squinted at him in confusion.

“Then I realised I wasn’t in love, I was just hungry.” He dramatically looked away, placing a hand on his chicken-y heart. “I have never got over it.”

Grantaire just shook his head at him with a grin and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’ve got to get back, I’ll see you later.”

Courfeyrac shrugged and grinned at him, pulling his beak so that it snapped into position over his nose. “If you want some advice from a master, my dear boy, I would advise that you try flirting. You know? Talk to him, bat your eyelashes a little. Trust me!”

“Yeah right,” R muttered as he walked away.

Then again. It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

 

***

 

  The next day, Enjolras was exhausted.

He had been on shift since 5:30 in the morning for what Thenardier dubbed the “breakfast rush” but in reality consisted of about two people and really did not legitimise getting up so early. At least he was with Prouvaire for this shift, who he genuinely liked. The poet was soft spoken and kind, and under his patient instructions Enjolras finally felt like he was getting to grips with the till.

At about 12, Prouvaire took off their apron and let out their long red hair from the hairnet. “I’m off shift now,” he told Enjolras, “And there’s literally no one else around. Do you mind if I go?”

“Oh no, that’s fine!” Enjolras said, flapping his hands. “I’ll be fine.”

“As long as no customers come in,” Prouvaire joked. “Ok, well I’ll see you later then. Joly should be along soon to take up my place.”

Enjolras sat on his own for a few minutes, tapping the counter. He took his phone out, but Ferre was busy doing whatever and he had no new messages. He cleaned the counter and wiped down the tables, then refilled the straw dispenser and looked out in the back where Thenardier was grumpily meant to be working on the food but was in actual fact playing Snake on his phone.

Eventually he slumped back onto the counter, sighing in boredom.

Where the hell was Joly?

A ringing sound startled him for a moment, before he realised that it was the door, heralding in a customer. “Hi!” He said brightly without looking up, “Welcome to Napoleon’s- Oh. It’s you.”

Grantaire is stood there in a baggy green hoodie and jeans, smirking a little shyly at him. “Hi there, Apollo, nice to see you too. And how are you this fine morning?”

“Bored. So bored you have no idea! What are you doing here, anyway? Isn’t it your day off?”

“Got a bit peckish.”

Enjolras raised an eyebrow. The food at Napoleons was notoriously bad, so bad that people would buy it to reassure themselves that it was actually bad and that they hadn’t hallucinated it and were exaggerating.

“Ok fine, I wanted to check up on how you were doing.” He shrugged. “Joly’s almost always late- I love him, but he spends far too much time dallying with his boyfriend and not enough time at work when he’s supposed to be.”

“Wait, boyfriend?”

“Yeah..?” Grantaire looked at him oddly, then shrugged and changed the subject. “so. How’s it been? Busy?”

“You are our third customer today.” Warily he eyed the till. “You want anything?”

“Your number?” When Enjolras just looked at him confused, he sighed. “Kidding! Can I get a banana milkshake please? I’m getting a train out to visit my sister but it doesn’t get here for another hour so I figured I might as well entertain you for a bit.”

“Coming right up.” He pushed a few buttons on the machine, and then frowned when it didn’t work and pushed another few. It started working, and he grinned, proud of himself. He turned back to R. “So there’s something I didn’t fail horribly at!”

Taire looked at him, amused for a second, holding his gaze. “Well done.” He had very dark eyes, blue and pretty, E realised, and then frowned because he didn’t know what to do with the realisation. He wasn’t entirely sure how long he held his gaze before the darker haired man looked away, did a double take and swore. “Fuck!”

The milkshake machine was apparently not stopping. The cup had over flowed and it was dripping down onto the floor.

“Fuck,” Enjolras agreed and darted towards it, trying to stop it and managing to cover himself in milkshake instead. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, it won’t stop! What do I do?”

"Just press the button, there, it should make it stop! No, the red one, quick!"

"Don't just stand there, help me you utter walnut!"

Grantaire ducked under the counter and tried hopelessly to press the off button, milkshake spattering over his shirt. "Shit, it's not working!"

"Oh my god!" Enjolras grabbed an empty bucket and shoved it under the nozzle, and Grantaire grabbed the lever and yanked it hard towards him. Slowly, the milkshake fountain slowed to a dribble and then to a steady drip. E looked down at himself, shirt plastered to his chest and smelling strongly of fake bananas. "Shit." He murmured hopelessly, eyes widening and a smile almost appearing.

R was trying not to laugh. "Impressive!" He joked and the blond boy glowered.

"I'm so screwed." He looked up at the clock, looking a little hysterical. "Don't you need to get a train?"

"Look at me. Do you really think they would let me on the train in this state?" He paused. “I’ll stay and help clean up.”

Enjolras looked him up and down, at the milkshake that was slowly dripping off his ears and at the awkward yellow-y white stains across his chest and felt an uncontrollable giggle push through his chest. "Oh my god," he gasped, flopping down to the floor on desperation. "I'm so sorry! That was terrible." He couldn't stop laughing, knowing how crazy he looked but unable to stop.

A few moments later, Grantaire joined him on the floor in a huff of laughter. "You, my dear boy, are hysterical."

Enjolras nodded in agreement, heaving in a huge breath and dissolving into a tiny puddle of giggling. “Something I didn’t fail horribly at!” He repeated, wheezing, and Grantaire choked on his laughter, watching the blond boy’s shoulders shudder with suppressed mirth and the shape of his long white neck as he threw his head back to laugh.

They were both too distracted to notice the bell tingling on the door and the footsteps leading towards the counter. "Hello? Enjolras? Where are you?"

"Joly!" Grantaire called. "We're down here!"

Joly’s confused but smiling face appeared over the top of the counter. "What the heck..." His question trailed off as he looked down to see the two. There was a long pause as he drank in the sight- E and R breathlessly giggling in a pool of banana milkshake.

“Enjolras had a bit of an…” Grantaire took a deep breath. “-accident!”

Joly pulled out his phone and clicked a few photos. “Well this doesn’t look very wrong or anything!” He giggled. “You guys realise that that is a highly inappropriate activity for a food preparation area?”

Enjolras stops laughing long enough to lob an empty paper cup at his head before pooling again at Grantaire’s feet.

Looking up at Joly, he shrugs and smirks.

Joly winks at him. “Well. You both seem to be all under control here, I am just going to pop out back to get changed.” He winked at Grantaire again, over-acting it, and sidled towards the door performing an over the top mime that R interpreted as ‘kiss him!!!!’ He rolled his eyes and sat up straighter, groaning at the ache in his stomach muscles.

“Well, that was…”

“Fun!” Enjolras sat up too, shaking the milkshake out of his hair. “Probably going to get me fired and get put up all over facebook by Joly and…” He paused, looking at R under his eyelashes. “Yes. It was fun.”

R grinned and it was weird how his face lit up completely when he did that- he looked happy for once, instead of his usual hang-dog expression. His teeth were perfectly white, a weird contrast with the rest of his face. He was (almost) attractive…

Enjolras leaned closer a little bit so that he could feel the warmth coming off R’s skin. He realise, weirdly, that he wanted very much to kiss him. For a moment, he tried to process that information. It wasn’t something he was used to, wanting to kiss people. It made him confused but happy at the same time; he felt like sunshine personified. He’d always thought that this would be a bad thing, liking someone. A really bad idea. But this didn’t feel like it right now.

The only question left was did R want to kiss him?

He opened his mouth to say something- what? What was he going to say? He was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he had been gazing slightly too intensely into the shorter boy’s eyes, and also of the fact that he didn’t seem to be complaining, or indeed to have noticed. He was swaying slightly towards him and Enjolras tilted forward on his knees to meet him and-

The moment was broken by Joly, announcing himself with a loud phone bleep. “Oh, sorry- am I interrupting anything?”

“No!”

“No, no of course not, no!”

Joly hummed under his breath. “Sure.”

“Anyway,” Enjolras said, looking at the mess. “We should probably clean this up…”

 

****

 

It was about an hour before they had finally finished eradicating any trace of bananas from the room. Finally they slumped down, R on a table in the restaurant area and Joly and Enjolras behind the counter. “You are lucky that Wednesday is our quietest day,” Joly pointed out, the glow from his phone giving his face an eerie blue glow. “Hey, after shift we’re going to go down to the Musain for drinks as per usual, but we weren’t sure if you were coming. Jehan said he’d come, and I think Marius is bringing this mysterious girl of his along. And if Jehan is going to be there, Courf will probably show his face at some point. He’s head-over-heels for that poor boy. Ep too.”

R shrugged. “Sounds cool, if there’s alcohol involved. I’m in!”

“Uh, yeah?” Enjolras made the statement sound like a question. “I mean, if you guys want me there?”

“Of course! You’re one of us now!” Joly knocked the brim of his cap so that it slipped down in front of his eyes and he scowled, retaliating.

“Wait,” R said, a moment later. “Jehan and chicken boy?”

“He’s been hitting on him for weeks. Last time he came by, he asked him if he had a licence cos he was driving him crazy. The week before, he made the stunning observation, ‘did you realise me and you rhymes with screw?’”

Grantaire laughed. “Wow. I bet Prouvaire turns him down flat.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure. He seemed pretty into it.”

“Nah, he’s just too shy to say no. Keep an eye on him, yeah? I like Courf and of course I trust him but I don’t want him to push Jehan too far or anything.”

The bell dinged, and Eponine tripped through. She was holding a little paper slip in her hand and staring at it in wonder.

“Ep!” R called. “What’s up?”

“What are you doing here, I thought it was your day off?”

“Oh I just… Enough about me, what about you? What’s that bit of paper?”

She frowned. “I was walking down by the subway, up near Greenway Park and this really shifty-looking goth guy in a top hat and feather boa knocked into my shoulder. And I thought I recognised him, and then I realised he was one of… You know. One of my dad’s friends. And then because I know my dad’s friends I checked my pockets and he saw me and gave me my purse back and we got talking… And one thing led to another and iaskedhimouttonightpleasedon’tkillme!”

“What was that last bit?”

Eponine took a deep breath.

“Slowly.”

“I asked him to come and get drinks with us.”

“This guy is friends with your _dad?!”_

“Oh, he’s only like two years older than me.” She grinned. “Oooh, go all protective older brother on me, I love it when you do that!”

R glared at her for about two seconds before it cracked into a smile. “Fine.” He said. “But I’ll be there all night. I’ll be utterly hammered and hopefully otherwise engaged-” He glanced at Enjolras who blushed underneath his neon yellow hat. “-but I will be there. So watch it, young lady!”

Eponine laughed, and then frowned, sniffing slightly. “I can smell bananas. Why can I smell bananas?”

Enjolras suddenly looked exceedingly interested in cleaning the counter, and Joly started nonchalantly whistling as he cleaned the till. R shrugged.

“You know what, I don’t want to know.”

“Good.”

“I will see you tonight.”

“Yes,” Grantaire smirked. “I’ll see you then.”

 

***

 

The Musain was a café, one of those hipster-y cool cafes that opened late and served alcohol and let groups of students lounge around on their fake leather sofas drinking wine and coffee whether they were technically of age or not.

When Enjolras gets there, having dashed home after his shift to wash the smell of chip fat out of his hair, most of the others are already there sprawled out over two plum-coloured sofas. His eyes instantly find Grantaire, wine glass in hand, sat slap bang in between Eponine and her date who is switching between glaring at him and looking curiously over at Jehan who he notices does not look at all like his shy and retiring self and is perched comfortably on Courfeyrac’s lap and flicking through a copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Grantaire had evidently granted them his blessing because Courfeyrac kept looking over and grinning at him, shooting him thumbs up. Marius is perched on a proper chair and is being ignored by his very very pretty blonde date while she casually gossips with Courf (who looks very different when not dressed as a chicken.) Wait, was that... Cosette? Weird. He couldn't actually remember them being on shift together though, now he thought about it. Maybe they'd managed to miss each other completely while working in the same place. Huh, maybe destiny was real after all. Joly is sat on the opposing sofa, sandwiched between a guy and a girl, neither of whom he knows. Feuilly, one of their regular customers from the shop next door is flopped on the comfy rug between the sofas and Bahorel is sitting on the table, never mind that it is clearly struggling under his weight.

“Buttercup!” Joly calls from his seat and Grantaire looks up instantly, meeting his eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you! I wanted to introduce you to the people I’ve been irritating you by texting all week- this is my girlfriend, Musichetta.”

“Call me Musi,” She smiled and crushed his hand in a vicelike grip that felt strangely threatening.

“And my boyfriend, Bossuet.”

Enjolras offered a hand to shake as Bossuet went in for the fist bump and then tried unsuccessfully to high five, eventually giving up and just letting Bossuet pull him into a hug. “Yeah, nice to meet you!” He said, uncomfortably aware that Musichetta- Musi- was judging him on his reactions to this. He didn’t have a problem. His only problem was looking like he didn’t have a problem.

“God, this feels sophisticated,” he said instead. “Meeting friends at a coffee bar.”

Joly laughed. “We only come here cos it’s cheap as dirt.” Musi elbowed him in the ribs. “And also because Musi works here and the food is amazing, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Do you want a drink?” The additional voice made him jump.

“Grantaire, hi!” He exclaimed, suddenly finding himself unable to stop smiling. “Um, water please?”

“Sure you don’t want anything more interesting?”

“Oh, I can’t really… Can’t really afford it right now.”

“Oh it’s no worries, I’m paying.”

“Oh. Um, ok then, if you’re sure?” He scanned the menu for the cheapest drink. “Just an apple juice please? I’m not a big drinker.”

“Opposite of me,” R grinned, and sashayed off to the bar. E watched him go and tried not to look too obvious.

Musi poked his arm. “You like him?”

“Seriously? Is it that obvious?”

“Sorry, yeah. I can tell, even,” Bossuet said, tilting his head back in the chair. “And when even I notice something, it’s got to be obvious.”

“Shit. Do you think he knows?”

“I think he hopes, dreams, prays!” Eponine giggled from behind him, shamelessly eavesdropping and Musi flicked an ice cube at her.

“Leave him alone, he doesn’t know what you mean.”

Enjolras shook his head- they were all too loud. The atmosphere in the café was too close, somehow, and it made his head spin.

“Hey, Tweetie Pie. You ok?”

Enjolras nodded, turning to Grantaire and taking his drink. He prayed he hadn’t caught the tail end of that conversation. “Tweetie pie?”

“You’re blond. Deal with it.” Enjolras swayed a little, and one of R’s hands shot out to catch him before he face-planted straight through the table. “You sure you’re ok? Do you want to get some air or something?”

Sounding far away, Bahorel laughed. “Get in there, mate!”

Enjolras didn’t even register. “Sure. Thanks.”

 

Outside, the air felt cleaner. Enjolras hovered by the doorway while Grantaire stepped out, perching up onto a nearby railing. It was late, getting dark, and the stars were out.

“Pretty,” R commented.

“They are, aren’t they?”

“I meant you, princess.”

He rolled his eyes. “Thanks. Look, I… Sorry about going a bit weird in there. I get a bit claustrophobic when a lot of people talk to me at once.”

“No worries! You don’t need to keep apologising, you know.”

“Still. Sorry. I’m making you stand out in the cold when you could be having fun in there with your friends.”

Grantaire frowned. “You’re my friend.”

“Well yeah, but…” He shrugged. “They’re… I don’t know. I don’t want to monopolise all your attention.”

The other man laughed. “Bit late for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. You must have noticed my mountain-sized crush on you?”

“Uh… Can’t say that I have.”

Grantaire hopped off his perch on the railing and loped a few steps closer, shoving his hands in his pockets nonchalantly and smirking. “Really?”

“Really…” he breathed.

“Shit,” Grantaire muttered, and kissed him. Very carefully, giving him the chance to pull away. Just a soft press of the lips and away. “We’ll have to change that, then.” His lips grazed along Enjolras’ jaw line and nipped at his ear. “Can’t have you thinking…” He brushed a kiss on to a sensitive spot on Enjolras’ neck and he squeaked, loudly. Grantaire laughed and did it again, softer and slower. It almost felt like torture. “Can’t have you thinking that I don’t like you like that when you’re the centre of my universe.”

“Oh,” Enjolras breathed, looking up at the stars, and he closed his eyes. Even with his eyes shut he could see the dazzling brightness burnt into his retinas, bright, bright and brilliant. He grinned, wide enough to hurt. “That’s…” Grantaire pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat and he lost all powers of thought. “Good,” He finished weakly.

“Good,” Grantaire echoed, sounding amused.

“Very, very good.”

“Brilliant.”

“Good.” He could smell banana milkshake and when he tilted his head up to kiss Grantaire on the cheek he could taste it on his skin. “Let’s go inside.”

**Author's Note:**

> The start of this was based on a BBC comedy shorts thing that was on Iplayer ages ago but I don't have a link any more- sorry! The ending veered off track a little though- this was not intended to be this long but oh well.


End file.
